This manual for professionals who offer, or are interested in offering, educational programs for family caregivers identifies obstacles to offering such programs and describes effective practices for dealing with these obstacles. The document's emphasis is on the process of providing educational programming, and not the content of the programming.…

This document reports the findings of a survey of 145 members of the International Nanny Association (INA). Survey results showed that 82.8 percent of respondents attended college, while 21.4 percent received bachelor's or master's degrees. Many of the nannies had taken classes or training in child care. Most nannies found their job placement…

The Wheelock College (MA) Family Child Care Project conducted 23 focus discussions of parents' child care experiences. Participants were groups of 8 to 12 parents in 9 U.S. cities. These groups were equal in their use of family child care (either in the provider's home, or in child care centers and preschools). This document presents a thematic…

This report analyzes the following 10 curricula for training programs for family child care providers: (1) Child Care, a family day home care provider program developed by Texas A&M's Agricultural Extension Service; (2) the Family Day Care Education Series, a coordinated resource manual and independent study course, the Active Learning Series,…

The Pennsylvania Child Care/Early Childhood Development Training System offers comprehensive training opportunities to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's licensed and registered child care providers, including center-based staff, school-age child care staff, and home-based providers. This booklet outlines state-mandated training…

This study examined the needs of beginning early childhood teachers in their first year of work in primary schools, kindergartens, or child care centers in Australia. The study surveyed teachers in 1988, 1989, and 1990; this paper discusses the results from the 1990 survey. Subjects were 31 teachers who responded to a questionnaire that concerned…

Serving as a substitute child caregiver can provide youth with an opportunity to sample the child care occupation while learning child care work skills. This report describes the Child Care Substitute Youth Internship Program, a community-based development project. Participating in the program in 1996 were fifteen 19- to 24-year-olds, 9 of whom…

High quality training is necessary to ensure that early childhood and child care practitioners are equipped to meet the diverse needs of the children and families they serve. This book presents the professional development partnership model of The Center for Career Development in Early Care and Education, a strategy to build a comprehensive career…

Exploring the stresses and dangers substitute mothering may pose to a toddler's personality development, this paper points out behavioral hallmarks of toddlerhood, describes the main developmental tasks toddlers have to master, and discusses factors that facilitate healthy development during this phase. Special emphasis is given to the most…

This book consists of 28 letters that child caregivers who work with children aged 3-6 can send to parents. Letters are organized into eight categories: (1) self-concept; (2) reading and writing readiness; (3) math readiness; (4) imaginative play; (5) motor development; (6) social development; (7) oral language and concept development; and (8)…

Compiled as a result of Massachusetts Bay Community College's Family Day Care Training Program, this handbook includes suggestions, quotations, and information provided by program completers. First, the handbook defines family day care as the care of one to six children, including the provider's own, in a private residence during all or part of…

Considers issues that challenge parents and professionals faced with the need for infant group care: nurturing in the infant caregiver, staff stability, economics of staff/infant ratios, the role of language in caregiving, altruism in babies, group versus individual time, control and power issues, caregiver training, and "people…

This theme issue of Coordinators' Notebook focuses on how early childhood care and development (ECCD) programs world-wide can work with parents and caregivers to support children from birth to 3 years of age. Section 1 of the journal describes the needs of parents and families and the development of parent programs around the world. Section 2…

This longitudinal study examined quality indicators in child care centers in three California communities in 1994, 1996, and 2000. Data were collected by means of interviews with teachers and directors and from classroom observations. Data collection in 1994 and 1996 focused on centers seeking NAEYC accreditation; the 2000 sample of 75 centers…

Research on parents has shown the critical contribution that linguistic input plays in fostering early literacy, but there have been no systematic studies of the literacy of the early care and education workforce and its role in fostering quality early learning environments. This report examines the literacy levels of early childhood educators in…